Galaxy NGC 4236

NGC 4236
NGC 4236: Image taken with Hubble Space Telescope [261]

History

On 6 April 1793 the German-British astronomer William Herschel discovered a «very large nebula» which he cataloged as V 51 and noted: «Very faint, much extended 70° north preceding, south following, about 25' long, and losing itself imperceptibly, about 6 or 7' broad.» [465] His son John observed it during his sweep number 377 on 28 October 1831 and noted: «Immensely large; very faint; much extended; very gradually brighter in the middle; it fills more than a field, but is hardly distinguishable. Hazy.» [466] John Dreyer added the nebula as NGC 4236 to his «New General Catqlogue» [313]

Physical Properties

NGC 4236 is a barred spiral galaxy and one of at least 34 gravitationally bound galaxies in the Ursa Major galaxy group.

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Name RA Dec Type bMag vMag B-V SB Dim PA z D(z) MD Dreyer Description Identification, Remarks
NGC 4236 1 12 16 43.3 +69 27 49 Gx (SBdm) 10.1 9.6 0.5 15.0 21.9 × 7.2 162 0.000000 4.260 vF, eL, mE 160° ±, vgbM UGC 7306, MCG 12-12-4, CGCG 335-8, KARA 523, IRAS 12140+6947
NGC 4236 2 12 16 43.5 +69 27 36 Gx (Irr) 15.7 15.1 0.6 12.9 0.5 × 0.3 160 -0.000020 4.410 vF, eL, mE 160° ±, vgbM 7ZW 446

Finder Chart

The galaxy NGC 4236 is located in the constellation Draco. The best viewing time is March to September when it is highest at night.

Finder Chart Galaxy NGC 4236
Galaxy NGC 4236 in constellation Draco. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

Lemon Slice Nebula
IC 3568
Winnecke 4
Messier 40
Bodes Galaxy
Messier 81
Cigar Galaxy
Messier 82
NGC 3077

References

  • [149] SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
  • [160] The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
  • [261] Explore - The Night Sky | Hubble’s Caldwell Catalog; nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog (2021-02-08)
  • [277] «Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge» von Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke (2021-02-17)
  • [313] «A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, being the Catalogue of the late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., revised, corrected, and enlarged» Dreyer, J. L. E. (1888); Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 49: 1–237; Bibcode:1888MmRAS..49....1D
  • [465] «Catalogue of 500 new nebulae, nebulous stars, planetary nebula:, and clusters of stars; with remarks on the construction of the heavens» William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1802; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1802.0021
  • [466] «Observations of nebulæ and clusters of stars, made at Slough, with a twenty-feet reflector, between the years 1825 and 1833» John Frederick William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1833, Pages: 359-505; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1833.0021